I know that I may be shot and strung up for this, but Who Shot Laurel Kent? I have read that book for years, and maybe I miss the clues, but I still have not figured this out. Please help me, and keep the jeers to a minimum. LLL.
Posted by Fat Cramer on :
No jeers here - I had to look it up...all I had was a vague memory of it being a hoax. From the Legion Help File:
"As part of her disguise, (Laurel Kent) feigned a vulnerability to Kryptonite, allowing herself to be "injured" by a bullet made of the substance when Professor Ivo targeted descendants of members of the Justice League of America in 2985 (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 8, 9, 12, Annual # 1).
In 2987, she finally made her move. To get access to Legion Headquarters, she began flirting with and dating Sun Boy (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 41), who eventually brought her inside. She remained after Sun Boy fell asleep, though, and raided Brainiac 5's lab for any information she might be able to get on the immortals spawned by the thousand-year-old event. The Legion tried to stop her, but, since they did not understand the full extent of her power, she broke free. Brainiac 5 put together a sensor to detect the kind of radiation that the Guardians of the Universe used to give off, using it to track Laurel, and Laurel stole it to look for the immortals. The Legion, in order to trap her, located some ruins and artificially permeated them with the Guardian-energy, where they hoped to trap her. They did more than that. When Laurel saw how old and neglected the place was, she decided that the immortals already departed the planet, and that she had failed in her mission. With no further purpose in existence, the being known to the Legion as Laurel Kent self-destructed (Legion of Super-Heroes (2nd series) # 42-43)."
(Now if we can only get Lori & Koko to self-destruct...)
Posted by Superboy2000 on :
Thanks.. I had no clue it was Prof Ivo. I couldn't figure it out. I feel much better now.
Posted by icefire on :
Laurel Kent is my favorite Legion Character!!!!
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
Oh yeah. I remember you being VERY persistant about my including her when I was doing a FAVORITE LEGION REJECT poll back on the old DCMBs, icey!
Posted by armsfalloffboy on :
Laurel was a great supporting character, part of what made the Levitz era so rich in detail. Unfortunately, she also has come to be what goes wrong with the Legion....one word, baby. CROSSOVERS. Every time DC gets the Legion involved, we get CTDs...continuity transmitted diseases. The CTD Laurel gave us was irritating, but limited....sort of like syphilis. We took our medicine, then moved on. Now Zero Hour simplex 10, THAT one lingers....
Posted by icefire on :
EDE you are correct that was m I will forever say Laurel should have been admitted to the Legion
Posted by Super Lad Kid on :
quote:Originally posted by icefire: EDE you are correct that was m I will forever say Laurel should have been admitted to the Legion
What? She was just invulnerable. That was it. All she would be able to do was fly around and let the bad guys shoot at her. And as if we needed any more Superboy ties to the Legion.
Posted by Blockade Boy on :
quote:Originally posted by Super Lad Kid:
quote:Originally posted by icefire: EDE you are correct that was m I will forever say Laurel should have been admitted to the Legion
What? She was just invulnerable. That was it. All she would be able to do was fly around and let the bad guys shoot at her. And as if we needed any more Superboy ties to the Legion.
Bloc, Ferro? If I need someone in front of me to block blasts from Regulus, I'd just as soon be looking at Laurel Kent's backside. Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Hi folks. As far as i know, this is my first post over here, though i registered a long time ago.
Anyway, I liked the idea of their being a descendant of Supes that enjoyed yankin' the chain of her great-to-the-x-power grandad and not telling him who she was. Plus, grell drew her hot if i recall, natch. but, that was when i was a kid. Married now, got my own hottie.
Anyway, i have to agree on the crossover-itis. It ruined a lot of good things.
Posted by Owl Lad on :
Welcome back...again, rickshaw1.
I was a Laurel Kent lover too. I don't suppose there's any reason to resurrect a Krytonian now that Superboy seems to be returning.
Posted by Super Lad Kid on :
Maybe it's a generational thing. I first saw her in that annual and never saw anything to like in her. I actually thought that turning her into a Manhunter robot was a clever way to get rid of a redundant character.
Posted by Lightning Lad on :
I thought, as a supporting character in the Academy, Laurel was okay. Never quite Legion material. But that outfit! I can see why Dirk let her into the clubhouse.
[edit note] Edited because I think the batteries on my wireless keyboard are dying. I missed a few letters in the post.
[ August 23, 2003, 01:47 PM: Message edited by: Lightning Lad ]
Posted by LoneWolfLondo on :
Laurel was great because she was a 30th century link to JLA, in a way that Superboy couldn't be. She and the Tornado Twins (pre boot anyway) and the tour guide guy Oli 3 or something? She was a good supporting character and didn't deserve to be CTD-ed. Posted by Kid Quislet on :
I agree with the pro-Laurel Kent camp. I thought she was a decent character link to the 21st century for the Legion. Even after the Byrne rewrite of Superboy out of Legion existance, I don't know why Laurel couldn't of been SuperMAN's decendant instead (she still looked like Superboy's future wife, didn't she?). Personally, she strikes me as a much more interesting Legion character than Andromeda. Or Monstress. Or Thunder.
Posted by Kid Quislet on :
By the way, the mystery of who shot Laurel Kent was revealed in a Legion of Super Heroes Annual #4? (Baxter series) if memory serves, by Levitz, Giffen and Mahlstadt. If you don't have a copy, that's a fun one I recommend you search the racks and pick up.
Posted by DrakeB3003 on :
quote:Originally posted by Kid Quislet: Personally, she strikes me as a much more interesting Legion character than Andromeda. Or Monstress. Or Thunder.
Just curious -- what did you find interesting about her? I don't remember her much from the stories I've read with her. Aside from being a scantily clad descendant of Superman with a bit of a sassy attitude, who was she really? (pre-Manhunter retcon that is)
Posted by Kid Quislet on :
It is true that Laurel Kent did not get a whole lot of time before the Byrne Superboy rewrite and Millenium wiped out her character, but in the few stories we saw her (especially her debut) she was established as a hero with a super ability (although diminished in comparison to Superboy) with a desire to better herself in the hopes of someday becoming a Legionnaire. As a student at the Academy and roommate to Dawnstar for a time, she showed qualities we came to know (and now miss) in Superboy - exemplary selflessness, teamwork, and dedication. My original thought was that in the post reboot she would be a much better strong female Legionnaire to start with than: 1) Andromeda - a poor Supergirl knockoff who joins the team as a bigot? Tyroc joined the Legion years earlier written in a Racism context, and could never separate from that unnecessary baggage. By the 1980's his character and black power disco duds were so far out there Levitz mercifully sent him into limbo. Andromeda is now in convent limbo with her own stupid character baggage. 2) Monstress - a She Hulk knockoff, hated by most Legion readers even with a skin tone change until her last story arc. 3) Thunder - a tribute to CC Beck, but there isn't a more boring ancestor from the 21st century that could have been picked than Capt'n Marvel. DnA saw this right away and thankfully had her sent back to the future.
Laurel Kent 's character would have living up to her famous ancestor Superman hanging over her head but with reduced abilities thru her "watered down" bloodlines. Sort of similar but opposite to what Brainiac 5 has in his history. This alone makes her IMHO more interesting than what any of the three above have offered. And since the original Superboy is no longer a DCU option, it would be nice for some one in the Legion like Laurel Kent wearing a big red 'S' to sort of take his place.
Posted by deanlegion on :
In her intro story, I swear Grell had never drawn a more beauiful woman! I mean, he draws lots of beautiful women, but there was just something extra amazingly stunning about how he depicted Laurel Kent. I thought she was a character of merit, but her power just wasn't good enough for the Legion. I liked that she had ties to the Super family, but it did seem pretty important to TPTB to cut those ties. I haven't read her Manhunter story in a long time, but I recall thinking something like "whatever" when it all happened. As far as rebooting her, well, it seems like a tricky proposition, but why not? I don't think the comparisons to Andromeda and Monstress really apply, either. They're all new and different characters postboot.
Posted by Sonnie Boy on :
quote:Originally posted by Kid Quislet: it would be nice for some one in the Legion like Laurel Kent wearing a big red 'S' to sort of take his place.
I always wondered why she never joined the subs... and if she's gonna wear an 'S' then give her a name for it - Super Girl? nah, there's been too many of them, how about Shield? I like the idea of her having a bit of a chip on her shoulder because she's trying to live up to her ancestors reputation, sort of like Umbra and Brainiac.
Posted by Owl Lad on :
quote:Originally posted by Kid Quislet: It is true that Laurel Kent did not get a whole lot of time before the Byrne Superboy rewrite and Millenium wiped out her character, but in the few stories we saw her (especially her debut) she was established as a hero with a super ability (although diminished in comparison to Superboy) with a desire to better herself in the hopes of someday becoming a Legionnaire. As a student at the Academy and roommate to Dawnstar for a time, she showed qualities we came to know (and now miss) in Superboy - exemplary selflessness, teamwork, and dedication. My original thought was that in the post reboot she would be a much better strong female Legionnaire to start with than: 1) Andromeda - a poor Supergirl knockoff who joins the team as a bigot? Tyroc joined the Legion years earlier written in a Racism context, and could never separate from that unnecessary baggage. By the 1980's his character and black power disco duds were so far out there Levitz mercifully sent him into limbo. Andromeda is now in convent limbo with her own stupid character baggage. 2) Monstress - a She Hulk knockoff, hated by most Legion readers even with a skin tone change until her last story arc. 3) Thunder - a tribute to CC Beck, but there isn't a more boring ancestor from the 21st century that could have been picked than Capt'n Marvel. DnA saw this right away and thankfully had her sent back to the future.
Laurel Kent 's character would have living up to her famous ancestor Superman hanging over her head but with reduced abilities thru her "watered down" bloodlines. Sort of similar but opposite to what Brainiac 5 has in his history. This alone makes her IMHO more interesting than what any of the three above have offered. And since the original Superboy is no longer a DCU option, it would be nice for some one in the Legion like Laurel Kent wearing a big red 'S' to sort of take his place.
Amen to all of that!
What if they did a take on the whole kidnapping of Violet storyline, except this time it was Laurel Kent who had been stolen away at birth and kept in a sens-tank(sp?) while the Manhunter took over her life. This way a whole new Laurel Kent could emerge and take her place in the Legion.
Too far out there? I just want her back. And Sonnie, Shield would be a great name!
Posted by Shadow Kid on :
I've always liked Laurel. She's probably my second favourite supporting character (after Shadow Kid natch).
Can anyone else see her rebooted as a potential love interest for Brainy. True, she's not Supergirl but lets throw the poor guy a brunette for a change. That would be hilarious Dorky ol' Brainy having an incredibly sexy handkerchief wearing Superman descendant for a girlfriend. The reaction from Sun Boy alone would be priceless. Posted by matlock on :
I think that Brainy and Laurel Kent got hooked up in some fanfic by a fellow that goes by the name darkmark. He does a lot of Supergirl stories, and I'd say he's pretty good. Does anyone have the url to his archive to give out?
I never had much of an opinion on Laurel one way or the other, though I thought the Manhunter thing was utterly ludicrous. I had a hard time with the idea that a robot could get shot, figure out it was hit with a kryptonite bullet and manage to work up some blood. And I guess whoever treated the wound must not have thought it a little unusual.
"Ms. Kent, do you know where you are? You've been shot but we're going to take good care of you. Whoah, hey now! You're a robot? I don't see that on your chart! Oh well, nevermind."
Posted by Kid Quislet on :
I see no reason why Laurel Kent can be introduced (and inducted!) at the next Legion open tryouts. She is simply the decendant from the Clark Kent/Lois Lane family line with the power of invulnerablitity (maybe develops some other Super traits along the way later).
And I really like the code name Shield as well. Her costume (or lack of one) MUST have the big red "S"!
Posted by icefire on :
I have extra copies of the annual if any one needs one. I used to run a comic shop have lots of extras around!!!!!!
Posted by icefire on :
Anyone need one?????
Posted by icefire on :
I have 3 extras!!!
Posted by Legion Lad on :
I think the people at Archie Comics might have something to say about a character called Shield. Of course, that's if they noticed, which they probably wouldn't.
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